***Official Soul Caliber II Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Brian Kleinke]

Bah, the PS2 can't be PATHETIC... it's a step up from the Dreamcast which wasn't progressive or anything and still awesome It's all relative... and depends upon your display. Just buy the game for the system you like best... no need to fight over which is best

Anyway, Dave F I pre ordered mine from Gamestop. I got the art book and a lithograph, I also got a CD but it came with the collectors edition of the players guide (sound track).

Brian

 

[Neil Joseph]

I spent a little time on the GC version last night (2% on the arcade and 98% in weapons mode) and unlocked 3 characters. Will have to spend more time tonight to see if I can unlock the rest. So far so good though.

 

[DonRoeber]

I preordered mine at a local gamestop. I was too late in the preorder list to get the lithographs, but I did get the art book. It's nice. First I've heard about the soundtrack cd though.

I got the game for my GameCube (I've got it and a PS2). We mostly use the GameCube, so factoring in the coolness of Link (who I actually find inconsistent and annoying in SC2) and the Wavebird controllers, I got the GC version. Really enjoying the game so far. I've unlocked the secret charactes in the Weapon Mode, and a few levels as well. Played it for about 4 hours so far, but some of that was Vs. mode with my fiancee.

 

[GlenHaag]

it's a step up from the Dreamcast which wasn't progressive or anything and still awesome

Actually, most DC games were Progressive scan capable.

Glen

 

[Dave F]

Here's a link to the Gamestop ad for the art book and bonus cd:

Order now, and you will also receive a bonus disc with playable demos of Kill.Switch and I-Ninja. This disc also contains trailers, bonus materials and demos of R: Racing Evolution, Time Crisis 3, Moto GP 3, Tekken 4, Ace Combat 4 and Xenosaga: Episode 1. Contents of this bonus disc subject to change.

I emailed them last night, hopefully I'll have good news...

-Dave

 

[Mike_G]

You could only get progressive scan if you had the VGA converter. You can't get progressive scan from S-Video.

Mike

 

[Ken Chui]

"Soul Calibur II is at the top of many PlayStation 2 owners' must-have list this fall. The demo disc is a great way to give those gamers a taste of Namco's other award-winning properties, as well as some new titles being released later this year."

I prepaid for the PS2 version at a B&M location because of the lithograph (not available with online pre-orders). Although I have a T-shirt from a cancelled EB pre-order, I'm still waiting for Circuit City to receive their copies (for the T-shirt and $10 Gift Card). One location informed me that they won't receive their stock until next Monday.

 

[RANDY FISHER]

"You could only get progressive scan if you had the VGA converter."

It's kind of funny that they called it a VGA converter because it wasn't a cheap up-converter. The Dreamcast actually put out 640 x 480 thru some of the pins in the graphics output port. It looked freak'in awesome on my computer monitor.

Randy

 

[Eric F]

Ordered mine from KBToys last night ($40 shipped after 20% off coupon), and they were nice enough to ship it this morning- Airborne Express! Weee!

 

[Brian Kleinke]

I just played the DC on s-video and SC was jaw-dropping

I think my point still stands about the PS2 version.

 

[JamesHl]

It's unfortunate that one of my old roommates broke my dc long ago, because I would like to side-by-side compare the graphics with the SCII. I have to say so far that it looks better, but it's not phenomenal. I remember the first time I saw SC1 it mesmerized me into going out and buying a dreamcast.

The 5.1 sound and environmental effects are pretty cool, though.

 

[Joseph Young]

The head-to-head, if I remember correctly, cites some framerate hiccups in the PS2 version, while the framerate for Xbox and Cube are solid. Xbox looks to be the best bet for overall performance, but the Cube comes in a close second, according to the head-to-head. I don't have an opinion personally, because I have not played the game (although the foaming-at-the-mouth fanboys at Gamestop lost sleep over failing to get me to preorder SC2).

 

[Ricky Hustle]

The PS2 video and audio are horribly PATHETIC

Hmmmm. A fanboy that does not own a ps2.

I own all 3 current consoles. I favor my Xbox and could be described as a Microsoft fanboy (the only one).

But to describe the PS2 as PATHETIC is a stretch. Have you played Final Fantasy X? It's the prettiest game I've ever played. Ace Combat 4? No? I didn't think so.

 

[Sean Moon]

The PS2 version of this game is by far the weakest one I think. The controller is the best suited for this game to my needs, but the graphics arent as sharp as the cubes and the xbox, and the load times are distracting. The extra character is also not that interesting to me since I can use him in another fighting game already.
The cube version has the worst controller for the game, unless you get a stick, then all is fine. Cube also has the BEST extra character to me. How cool is it to use link outside of a Zelda game? Pretty damn cool.
THe XBOX one has the best graphics to me, the best load times(as in nonexistent to so damn short it doesnt matter)and the good controller.
I have played all three, and I say the XBOX version has the most positive things going for it.

 

[JayV]

Rick, for accuracy's sake, I should point out that Mike mentioned that he had the PS2 demo disc; presumably he owns a PS2 to play it on . I believe he was specifically referring to the PS2 version of SCII.

-j

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Differences between the JPN and US versions I've noticed so far:

• more art
• explanations for rules before WM matches
• WM Mode harder?
• Japanese could be used to tell what kind of attack was being made, English isn't as reliable (i.e. lots of repetition)
• Story is readable, finally
• audio seems to be a little more normalized
• music changed? The open-air gears level in particular sounds different, some sort of "Crouching Tiger..." theme

Does anyone else with the XBox version not get subtitles, even though they turned them on? Is it a Closed Captioning thing or something, because my projector can't do CC.

 

[Dave F]

I also think that the weapons master mode is tougher in the U.S. version. But didn't the Japanese version also have the rule explanations in the weapons master mode? I thought they were there, but I just couldn't read them.

-Dave

 

[Citizen87645]

Picked mine up on Friday from Circuit City, which was offering the 10.00 store gift card and the t-shirt. From what I could find it was the best deal around, though there are 5.00 off coupons floating around for Target and Best Buy.

I've been playing the demo for the last few weeks and wasn't too impressed with its 720p. But the actual release is great, enough not to mind the window boxing for the 4:3.

 

[Mike_G]

Hmmmm. A fanboy that does not own a ps2.

I own all 3 current consoles. I favor my Xbox and could be described as a Microsoft fanboy (the only one) and has PS mag demo discs all the way back to issue 9.

But to describe the PS2 as PATHETIC is a stretch. Have you played Final Fantasy X? It's the prettiest game I've ever played. Ace Combat 4? No? I didn't think so.

Uhhhhh. A long-time videogame fan that owns ALL THREE CONSOLES ALSO (or 4 if you include the DC).

Have I played FFX? Yes. Still listen to the soundtrack at least once a week at work also. That doesn't mean that ALL games on the PS2 are going to look as good. Ace Combat 4? Well, I'd really like to know what difference it makes. I played Caesar's Casino, too. What's your point?

It's pathetic. The sound is weak and the graphics are not nearly as vibrant and detailed as the GC or XBox version (I played both the last 2 days).

Mike

 

[Mike_G]

So my nephew came over last night to drool all over the GC/Link version and we wound up beating the Weapon Master scenario with Link. We unlocked all but 3 characters (on the bottom) and a ton of other things. There seems to be 88 unlockables total.

The GC version gives the Xbox a run for its money in graphics at 480p, and the Xbox has only SLIGHTLY better audio. I was very impressed. I really think that the GC controller is good, but not the best suited for the game. The Xbox controller is better, but the PS2 controller is probably the most comfortable in terms of getting out combos. The different heights of the buttons on the GC controller made things a little more difficult.

Mike